Chapter Text
A beeping noise sounded from the direction of the front door followed by a few loud knocks and an annoyed voice.
“Damn he changed the code fast”
“I’ll go let them in, if you are still sure you want to do this? I can grab the food and then send them packing instead?” Ilya offered with a smirk on his face, leaning in to kiss Shane’s cheek before standing up.
“I’m sure, let’s get this over with.” Shane replied trying his best to smile at Ilya who was now heading towards the front door.
Once Ilya turned the corner out of sight Shane rubbed a hand over his face and took a deep breath. He could do this, he had been preparing for this moment all day.
After his vomiting episode earlier, that he was blaming on his migraine hangover and not the pure anxiety from being found out by Marleau and St.Simon, he had spent the rest of the day mentally readying himself for his meeting.
They had crawled back into bed for a few hours after Shane had showered away any possible green vomit that clung to him, and when he woke up he felt much better.
Once Ilya had confirmation Shane felt okay he then took the next hour or two making it his personal mission to pull Shane out of his head. First by giving him one of the best blowjobs of his life followed by fucking him like he couldn’t get enough of him.
Once Shane’s sex addled brain started working again they showered together before talking a bit about how tonight would go. They weren’t sure what types of questions the guys would ask, but they decided that they would answer anything as long as they both were comfortable and agreed before they answered.
That left about three hours until the chosen 6pm meeting time, so after Shane booked his flight home for tomorrow afternoon he decided to treat the rest of the day like he would before a game.
Normally he would go for a run or do a workout to ease his nerves, but he decided that yoga was the better option for his still recovering head. He barely managed to finish his routine before Ilya was all over him again blaming his inability to control himself on the new shorter than normal shorts Shane had been wearing.
Afterwards Shane showered, ridiculously, for the third time that day taking his time under the hot water. Once he was clean he continued to distract himself by watching tape from their last game, making notes in his phone to bring up at the next practice while Ilya scrolled on his phone beside him.
Marleau had texted Ilya after they picked up the food from the restaurant they had all agreed on to give them a fifteen minute warning of their arrival.
Shane had spent those last few peaceful minutes curled up with Ilya on the couch, not saying anything just running his hands through Ilya’s hair. He was as calm as he was going to get, the fact that Ilya said they had texted him this morning to tell him how excited they were to officially meet The Shane Hollander had made him roll his eyes but gave him an ego boost none the less.
If Marleau and St.Simon were going to tell other people, or they were only pretending to be supportive, they wouldn’t be bothering to come over. Wouldn’t be trying to reassure Ilya through texts throughout the day that they loved him unconditionally.
The combination of his lingering exhaustion, the fact his body was still completely blissed out from all the sex, and the apparent excitement from Ilya’s friends had sent him into a headspace that he didn’t frequent often.
The “I have zero fucks to give” headspace was a rarity because he always had way too many fucks to give at any given moment, but for this occasion maybe it was the best place he could be.
He felt like he did before a game that he knew they were going to win. He was determined, shockingly calm, and ready to get it over with.
He was shaken from his thoughts when the three of them came around the corner, St.Simon carrying what looked like enough food for ten people while Marleau was weighed down by a case of beer, a bottle of vodka, and a six pack of Gingerale with a bright red bow on top.
Marleau met his eyes over the pile of beverages and grinned,
“Hollander! How are you feeling? You look way less pale.”
Shane hadn’t been sure if they were going to dance around the events of the previous night, but these were Raiders, they were known for being loud, bold, and blunt so this greeting checked out. Honestly he preferred this approach.
“No offense man, but you really did look like shit last night.” St.Simon chimed in heaving all the bags onto the kitchen counter with a thud.
“Vic!” Marleau groaned depositing the drinks next to the fridge with a cringe.
Shane let out a laugh before smirking,
“I may have looked like shit but I still beat all your asses last night.”
Ilya had been watching him since they rounded the corner nervously, but after hearing that he broke out into a grin.
“Watch yourself St.Simon, Shane in the middle of a migraine still looks better than you on your best day.”
St.Simon sent Ilya a glare but his voice was playful as he responded.
“I mean we knew Jane had to be stunning to keep you wrapped around ‘her’ finger all these years,”
Shane felt himself blush much to Marleau’s delight,
“Look! You aren’t the only one who blushes, Roz!”
Ilya was glaring at Marleau his eyes telling him to shut the fuck up.
“He blushes?” Shane asked with a raised brow.
“Not according to him, but this guy would spend all his time before games glued to his phone looking like a tomato in a jersey every time you texted,”
“Russians do not blush! Shane is the only person in this room who is tomato.”
“Uh huh.” Marleau and St.Simon responded.
Shane rose from the couch and joined them in the kitchen, when he reached them Marleau held a hand out to him.
“Obviously we met before, but tonight I’m here as Cliff not Marleau. Roz’s best friend and not the guy who put you in the hospital last year, which I am still EXTREMELY sorry about by the way.”
Shane took his hand.
“Shane, not Hollander or Jane. Don’t worry I’m over it, you might want to watch out for my mother though, she knows how to hold a grudge.”
St.Simon skipped the handshake all together and pulled Shane into a quick bro hug.
“Vic, and even though you are just Shane tonight I’m still ecstatic to meet Shane Hollander. Please tell me how the fuck you managed that goal last night when you felt like shit?”
Ilya was watching Shane being pull into the hug with an amused look on his face. Shane glared at him over Vic’s shoulder but let the hug play out.
“Honestly I just needed the game to not go into overtime so I could get off the ice and suffer in peace. No better motivator.”
“I think I could motivate you in other ways,” Ilya drawled.
A collective groan came from Cliff, Vic, and Shane himself.
“Speaking of that, lets get this food plated up so we can talk about how exactly me and Vic stumbled onto this secret.”
Once they all filled their plates they took a seat at the table, Vic and Cliff with a beer, Ilya with a glass of the very expensive vodka they brought, and Shane with his Gingerale that Cliff had handed to him with a pleased smile on his face.
“Honestly I was debating on bringing you flowers, but I figured Roz would kill me so I asked him what you would want. I’m sure he already has some here but mine came with a bow on top so its better.”
“You were going to bring Shane flowers?” Ilya asked, choking on his drink.
“Well duh, that’s what we do anytime the team meets a new wag.” Vic wiggled his eyebrows at Shane.
Even though he could feel his cheeks redden he rolled his eyes. The idea of being Ilya’s WAG (even secretly) filled him with a fondness that he was sure was showing on his face.
“Good choice Marly, the only person getting Shane flowers will be me.”
“I mean you haven’t gotten me flowers yet, and it’s been what? Ten years?” Shane teased.
“Careful Shane,” Cliff warned, “Knowing Roz he will call up the best florist in Montreal and your place will be covered in bouquets before you even get back just out of spite.”
From the look on Ilya’s face Shane already knew Cliff was going to be proved right.
“Speaking of ten years, can we please get a little more info on how in the world this started up?” Vic asked waving his fork between Shane and Ilya.
Shane looked to Ilya who was looking back at him, he let his eyes trail over his boyfriends beautiful face before he leaned back in his chair and motioned for Ilya to go ahead.
“You can tell them, I’ll jump in if I feel like I have something to add, or if you need to shut up.”
Ilya downed the rest of his vodka with a grin on his face.
“Alright, listen up because we aren’t going to tell this story again. I first met Shane back in 2008, in the middle of fucking nowhere in a province I can’t even pronounce,”
“Saskatchewan” Shane offered.
“Da, that. After watching me play he was so impressed that he introduced himself outside the rink, even shook my hand twice.”
“I had to tell him off for smoking directly under a no-smoking sign.”
Vic and Cliff snorted.
“Not important, Hollander. After that we saw each other next in the gym late at night after the draft, he was drowning his sorrows for being second on the exercise bike,”
“I was not drowning my sorrows!” Shane smacked Ilyas shoulder. “I couldn’t sleep because it was an exciting night.”
“Da, even more exciting when I beat you in bike race and then share my water bottle with you on gym floor.”
Cliff and Vic had both put down their forks, their attention fully on Ilya.
“After that we ended up doing a CCM commerical together and-“
“Oh fuck no you don’t,” Shane cut in loudly. “We did not ‘end up’ doing that commercial together, he literally pitched the idea of us doing the commercial together to the producers because he wanted to see me again.”
Ilya sniffed,
“Okay, maybe I asked for us to do commercial together, but who could blame me? I wanted to see his pretty face again. I nearly smacked the makeup brush out of the woman’s hands when I thought she was trying to cover your freckles.”
“Awe, who knew you were such a lover boy Rozy?” Cliff teased.
Shane couldn’t help himself,
“Yeah well, after the shoot he ended up jerking off AT me in the shower so let’s not get ahead of ourselves,”
It was like the room exploded.
“Jesus fucking Christ Roz!” Cliff yelled before cracking up.
Vic had chosen that moment to take a bite of his food and instantly started choking, his face turning bright red. Cliff had to give him a couple whacks on his back before he managed to start breathing normally enough to wheeze out,
“What the fuck dude, that could have ended badly. Harassment much?”
Ilya rolled his eyes.
“He forgot the fact that he couldn’t stop checking me out before hand okay? I’m not completely insane.” He said indignantly.
Shane took a sip of his drink, pleased with himself about the pink flush on Ilyas face.
“Anyway! I asked for his room number and the rest of history. We would meet up whenever we could, after games, during events, awards.”
“Honestly I thought you were dating a girl who worked for the Metros once I realized you met up with her after every game here and in Montreal. Or she had to be like a crazy super fan to make the trip for the Boston Games. We even tried to look through the Metros media pages to see if a Jane worked for them.”
“The thought of you dating The Montreal Metro never crossed our minds. Even if we knew you were bi I still don’t think we would have gotten there.” Vic added.
The idea that they managed to hide their relationship well enough was comforting, but it also made his heart hurt. The fact that to everyone else in the world Shane Hollander despised Ilya Rozanov when in reality he couldn’t be more in love with him felt wrong. Necessary for Ilya’s safety, for their careers, but wrong.
Shane shrugged locking eyes with Ilya who he could tell was feeling the same. He decided he should continue the story,
“We kept on like that for years, but well, neither of us would admit it but for me it stopped being casual, I’m not sure if it ever was.”
“It was not,” Ilya agreed putting his hand on Shanes thigh under the table.
Vic cleared his throat glancing between them, “I told Marly I wasn’t going to bring this up but-“
“Vic! No.” Cliff cut in with a glare.
“But man I need to know what happened to cause the winter of agony. I don’t think my body has ever fully recovered.”
Shane did not need to be told what winter Vic was referring to, Ilya nodded at him that he was fine with him sharing that part of their history.
“I’m assuming you mean November 2016 to February 2017?”
Cliff looked apologetic but he nodded along with Vic.
“Things changed one night while I was visiting, and to put it bluntly I freaked out. I left, broke things off, and then a few weeks later I went out with J.J and I met Rose. We are great friends now,”
Ilya let out a huff of displeasure,
“So I’m not going to say much on the subject but basically she helped me figure out that I was gay, something I hadn’t really let myself admit to until then. After that we talked at-“
“All Stars!” Cliff blurted out. “Roz came back from that weekend glowing like the sun. Couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.”
“And thus ended our months of misery.” Vic declared dramatically looking pleased. “I honestly thought Roz was pissed that you managed to date a movie star before he did. He looked like he wanted to die every time photos of you guys popped up.”
Ilya glared at Vic before continuing,
“Yes, and once he realized I was better than a movie star, I ended up going to his cottage for the summer, not back to Russia like I told you all, and everything became official. So here we are, having to explain ourselves because you two thought it would be fun to break into my house.”
“Still not sorry about that by the way. You could have been on the floor suffering for all we knew. Really its your fault for not answering your phone, Rozy.” Cliff said.
“Whatever, code is changed now so,”
“To another hotel room number?” Vic teased.
“No, of course not.” Ilya replied but glanced away quickly.
Shane rolled his eyes knowing the new code was now 1221.
Ilya had told him he would not be sharing the code with Cliff again but Shane was going to convince him to come around, the fact that they had driven out here nearing midnight just to check on their friend meant a lot to Shane. The reminder that Ilya would be leaving Boston next season and leaving this friendship back in the city had a pang of guilt rushing through him.
They would have to invite Cliff and Vic over after any game the Raiders had against Ottawa or Montreal, maybe he could ask Ilya if he wanted them to visit him at cottage during the summer.
The conversation continued as they all finished their plates of now very cold food. Once the table was cleared off and the dishwasher running they found themselves standing around the kitchen.
A glance at the clock told him two hours had passed, the evening had felt like it lasted a lifetime and only three seconds at the same time. Any lingering doubts about Cliff and Vic keeping their secret had been quieted in his mind, he felt peaceful.
“I would ask you both to stay, but Shane has to fly back tomorrow and the migraine already stole most of our time together, so I am kicking you out.” Ilya announced once there was a lull in the conversation.
“Fair enough, Rozy. But don’t expect us to let you sneak off after every game alone now! Anytime Hollander has more than a couple hours in Boston we want to come over.”
“Hell yes! You can’t hog Hollander now that we know about him!” Vic exclaimed as he surged forward and wrapped Shane into a hug again. He felt himself relax into it this time even though it was still probably a stiff hug on Vic’s end. He would have to get used to this if Vic would be around more.
Once he was let out of the vice grip of Vic’s hug he was yanked into another one by Cliff. Who knew the Raiders were such huggy guys?
The Metros could never.
Cliff’s hug did not last as long as Vic’s, stepping back Cliff clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a serious look.
“Be good to our Cap, Hollander.”
“And don’t think all this means we are going to go easy on you on the ice either,” Vic added.
Shane scoffed,
“I’ll be good to Ilya, you don’t have to worry about that. But are you sure you guys haven’t been going easy on me already with the score of the last couple games?”
A collection of curses sounded from all three Raiders in the room, all of them flipping him off.
The group made their way to the door, Cliff and Vic bending down to slip their shoes on.
“This must be something he picked up from you, Shane? We never had to take our shoes off before.”
Shane cringed at the thought of dirt being tracked all through the house.
“Da, polite Canadians take their shoes off. He looks like he will combust if I do not.”
He elbowed Ilya in the ribs but didn’t say anything to object, he was right after all.
Watching the two guys shrugging on their jackets Shane decided to continue being brave.
“Why don’t you guys give me your numbers? If we are going to see each other after games? Just save me as Jane though, obviously.”
“I’m not enough for you? You have to get more Raiders numbers?” Ilya growled but with a bright glint in his eyes.
“I think we are going to have to come up with a different name for you, I think if the name Jane comes up on either of our screens Rozy will have a meltdown.”
The look on Ilya’s face confirmed Cliffs concerns.
“Well whatever you think, I’ll add you both in now.”
Once their numbers were added into his phone he slipped it back into his pocket and watched as Ilya was engulfed in a group hug from his friends. He could hear them whispering quietly to each other but he tried to give them some privacy and instead let his gaze travel out the window where a very bright blue sports car was sitting next to Ilyas orange Porsche.
Great, he was sure Cliff would join in on Ilyas mocking once he caught a glimpse of Shanes very practical jeep. Maybe this meeting wasn’t the best idea.
Two minutes later he and Ilya were alone again, the roar of Cliff’s engine fading as he reversed down the driveway.
He found himself getting wrapped up into a hug again, this time he let himself sink into it, wrapping himself around Ilya as close as he could get.
“I think that went well,” He whispered.
“It was perfect,” Ilya whispered back, his hand running through Shanes hair.
“They will never stop bugging me to see you now though, you will never know peace again.”
“Like I have peace now, you’re already a handful.”
Ilya suddenly lifted him up off the ground and backed him against the wall. His lips crashed into Shanes, while Shane wrapped his legs around him.
Pulling away Ilya readjusted Shane in his arms before he started walking farther into the house.
“I’ll show you a handful, Hollander.”
Shane let out a laugh, allowing Ilya to throw him down onto the couch.
*****
Ping. Ping. Ping.
Cliffs phone pinged from the kitchen counter where he was sitting down eating leftover pizza from the night before while replaying the last couple hours in his head.
The way he had a front row seat to Roz shooting heart eyes towards Shane Hollander the whole evening. The way Shane had opened up more than he had ever seen him do before. He did plenty of media, but he was always polite and professional, never letting any personality shine through. He was delighted to realize that he was actually hilarious, not boring at all like Roz always called him.
Sure the guy had a specific diet, barely drank, didn’t seem to party, didn’t smoke, took his shoes off in the house…. okay maybe he was a little bit boring, but not in a bad way.
Roz had settled down lately, something that guys on the team teased him about but Cliff thought the change was for the better. He was less impulsive, less likely to get blacked out on a night out, and the most shocking change being that he barely reached for a cigarette anymore.
Maybe Shane’s particular brand of boring was just what Roz needed, and Roz’s ‘dramatics’ just what Shane needed seeing as the guy huffed at his antics all throughout dinner but always ended up smiling.
He reached down and turned his phone over to check who was messaging him, half expecting it to be Vic who had been non stop texting him since he dropped him off.
Vic: i still can’t believe it.
Vic: did you see the way Roz stared at him the whole time?
Vic: 2008!!!!
Vic: he planned a commercial just to flirt with him, man!
Instead of seeing the foolish contact photo he took of Vic passed out in a cab on a night out he saw the messages were from an unfamiliar number.
Unknown number: 1221 is the new door code.
Unknown number: And yes, before you ask it is actually another hotel room.
Unknown number: Thank you for checking on him last night, even though you got way more than you bargained for.
Cliff smiled and instantly went to add Shane’s number into his phone, hesitating when it came to the contact name.
He had not been joking about Roz not liking Jane popping up on his and Vic’s phone screens, it might also cause some issues if another guy on the team noticed. They all knew how touchy Roz was about his Montreal Jane.
He still couldn’t get over how simple the fake name was, honestly he should have figure it out way before now. Suddenly it hit him.
Holly.
Chuckling he finished adding Shane into his phone.
Cliff: how many hotel room numbers can he possibly remember? it’s been years.
Holly: He has a list actually.
Ping. Ping.
Roz: i do not!
Roz: i regret this already